The Strange Adventures of Hearn the Believer

At the end of the story, the woman gently stopped speaking, looked around at the bright eyes of the little sparrows, and smiled slightly, "The story of the Little Prince and the pilot ends here."

"Mr. Hearn, did the Little Prince really return to his asteroid in the end?"

"Yes, the pilot checked the dune where the little prince fell the next day, and it was deserted."

"Did he reunite with his one and only rose?"

"His rose has been waiting for him on the asteroid, and they deserve to be reunited."

"But the fox, who also tamed the little prince, was left alone on Earth."

"As the fox said at the end—alas, she'll cry."

"It's too much..."

……

The little sparrows seemed to have endless questions, stemming from their boundless curiosity at such a young age. Mr. Hearn was incredibly patient, answering each child's questions carefully and gently. Time flew by in this harmonious atmosphere, and before the little sparrows knew it, the morning had quietly slipped away. Remembering their mothers' repeated reminders about mealtimes, the children scattered like real sparrows, hurriedly flying home after saying goodbye to Mr. Hearn.

"It's already noon...that's why I'm not good at dealing with kids...hmm?"

The believer felt somewhat exhausted, and the faint chirping of sparrows still lingered in his ears. He looked up at the sky, and the warm winter sun shone on him, evoking a warm and illusory sense of happiness. He looked down and noticed that there was still one sparrow that had not flown away.

She was a little dragon girl with a faint presence. Her white, jade-like horns extended diagonally from her temples backward, and her ink-black hair made Mr. Hern, who was in a foreign land, feel a sense of familiarity. The little girl stared straight at the believer, her feet motionless, seemingly with no intention of going home.

"Mr. Hearn."

"Well, I'm here."

The child's voice, with its unique clarity and soft sweetness, made Hearn's patience grow a little longer. He asked the little girl with a smile, in his usual gentle tone, what was wrong.

"Actually, the Little Prince never returned to the asteroid, nor did he reunite with his rose, right?"

"Hmm? Why do you say that?" The believer tilted her head slightly.

"Because the Little Prince and the snake also tamed each other and formed a bond."

"uh-huh?"

"When the Little Prince left, the fox, who had formed a bond with him, said she would cry; so the snake, who had also formed a bond with him, would also be sad."

“Hmm, that’s one possible solution.” The believer nodded, admitting that he had become interested, and couldn’t help but ask, “So, child?”

"So I think that at the end of the story, the Little Prince did not return to the asteroid to reunite with the rose who loved him. The pilot did not find the Little Prince's body the next day because the snake swallowed him and completely possessed him, so that he would never leave... Just like the first painting the pilot drew when he was six years old."

"..."

The child's words were innocent and pure, and Hearn, the storyteller, fell into deep thought about this answer she had never imagined.

When he first opened that famous children's short story written by the Frenchman Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in 1942, he was prejudiced by the romantic spirit unique to the French and chose to believe the more romantic ending. After that, he closed the book and left it to gather dust, never to be read again, until recently when he was doing odd jobs as a storyteller, playing with children on the street, he picked up that fragmented story again from the depths of his memory.

He admitted that when he first finished reading the story, he didn't consider another possibility, one stripped of all romanticism.

However, perhaps this ending is also a kind of romance in another sense.

He couldn't help but think this way, and his mind suddenly became clear.

"Child...hmm?"

The believer snapped out of her reverie and looked up, only to find no trace of the dragon girl. She looked around, but there was no sign of the city streets of Silver Harbor.

Golden sunlight streamed through the gaps in the dense canopy, casting shadows on the ground. Bushes grew thickly in the forest, and emerald green moss and lichen covered many corners of the bluestone. The air was filled with a refreshing dampness, accompanied by the sweet fragrance of flowers.

This place was clearly a dense primeval forest. The believer looked around for a moment and thought that this should be a corner of the Rosetta Forest. The scent of the sea tide had not gone away. The plan to return to Silver Harbor in Sweetwater Bay before sunset seemed feasible.

Kids these days are something else!

A slight, bittersweet feeling welled up in the believer's heart. She wondered if the little girl with her unique insights into the story was dissatisfied with him, the storyteller. But even if she was dissatisfied, there was no need to deliberately throw him here...

He spent a short while figuring out the direction, then quickly planned his itinerary and headed towards the direction where the sea breeze was strongest in his magical senses. If nothing unexpected happened, he would continue in this direction until he reached the coast, and then follow the outline of the coastline, heading north or south back to that port city.

Where did Yu Yi go?

Could he still be sleeping soundly in the hotel?

It's always a bit lonely when the fox who used to banter with you suddenly disappears from your life.

Soon, the believer paid a small price for her inattentiveness.

The ground in the forest was covered with shrubs, and there were countless low branches lying among them. He seemed to have stepped on some kind of smooth and hard structure, which slipped away hastily under the pressure of the damp soil.

"Oh!"

Hearn easily regained his balance, let out a soft cry, then squatted down, parted the dense bushes, and picked up a smooth, jade-like brick.

Despite being called a brick, it actually looks more like a large-screen smartphone popular in the early 2000s. This "brick" is thin and easy to handle, with a jet-black surface that is so shiny it reflects light. Apart from the burnt smell of a severe short circuit, it has a very strong presence inside and out.

The believer reached out and tugged at the small, mechanical-arm-like contraption beneath the blackboard brick. No matter how she looked at it, she felt that the thing was somewhat beyond the level of craftsmanship of this era, and she was speechless for a moment.

There was a faint sound of footsteps stopping behind her. The believer subconsciously turned around and her gaze was immediately drawn to a weary look. She followed that gaze back to the origin. Her sea-blue eyes met another pair of dim purple eyes in an instant. Both of them remained silent for a long time, as if they had many things to say but could not find the words.

The believer, Hern, stared silently at the gray-haired girl before him, while the gray-haired mechanical girl also stared silently at him.

The birds in the woods also quieted down, seemingly unwilling to disturb this long-awaited reunion.

The wind spirits, who traversed the continents from north to south and crossed the Rosetta Sea of ​​Trees, joyfully brought a promise from the North—a vow from a devil.

"...Whenever you can break through the barrier of the White Wind and go to any corner of Thranheim, the moment you open your eyes, I will be standing before you, even if you are no longer you, and I am no longer myself..."

……

Chapter 81 Right and Wrong

With a profound melancholy in her heart, the believer Hearn reunited with the Black Panther Paladin in the ancient-style corridor of the inn [Cloud]. Her gaze naturally swept over the white figure cowering behind the Paladin, and then the corners of her mouth slightly turned up, thus dispelling the words she had been preparing for a long time.

“Joshua, my admirable friend, I’m glad you’ve been able to follow your heart and start enjoying the retirement life of a clergyman twenty years early.” After several days of travel, the believer’s voice was slightly hoarse, which made his words even more sarcastic. He stared at the young, charming, and gentle white fox boy hiding behind the paladin for a while, then gave the black panther an ambiguous look that said, “I understand, I understand.”

"..." Joshua's facial muscles twitched violently as he went from bewilderment to realization. He recalled Hern's tasteless joke on the street three days ago and knew that he was only making things worse by trying to explain himself.

"I heard from Miss Jiang Xue that you just ran a errand, coming back as a hero rescuing a damsel in distress. You should relax a bit. Well then, I won't bother you any longer. Goodbye." Xin Nu Hearn deliberately took two steps back, radiating an unmistakable aura of "I understand you, but get lost"—a "gay people please do not disturb" vibe—before disappearing around the corner.

"Her-Hen, you motherfucker!!!"

A moment later, the enraged black panther roared throughout the clouds, ruining the ancient tranquility of the inn.

Turning corner after corner, the believer Hearn returned to her usual room with light steps.

This hotel is quite large, and the landlady, Ms. Jiang Xue, doesn't have "Jie" in her full name. She is kind, gentle, and doesn't say anything strange, so most of the wandering mercenaries can stay there comfortably and with peace of mind.

The excellent service and environment in the cloud also mean considerable expenses, and its lobby is one of the long-term strongholds of the Silver Harbor Mercenary Guild. This is very convenient, as the believer Hearn completely avoids the embarrassment of having to settle the bill from time to time or being forced to change rooms when returning from a long trip, using the industry-standard commission-based system.

Mr. Hearn is the kind of person who is particular about his bed and has a slight obsession with cleanliness, so living in the same room for a long time would reduce his discomfort and make his life more comfortable.

It was three days later when we returned to Silver Harbor from the edge of the Rosetta Forest. Some minor incidents occurred during this time, but these were not the main reasons for the extended journey.

The believer Hearn had prepared a speech in his mind to persuade Joshua to become an accomplice in the conspiracy, but he had completely dismissed the idea just minutes ago.

"You're not in a good mood."

As I pushed open the door, a cool, distant voice reached me, sounding rather uninterested.

"Why? I should be smiling." The believer casually closed the door, locked it, took a few steps forward, and sat down at the dark red sandalwood table, clasping her hands together.

Your smile is dangerous.

"This is what it's like to reunite with an old friend who deserved to be stabbed three times and have six holes in him, even though [she] has an extra thing on her body that has become [him]." The believer rested her chin on her hand, her gaze drifting to the window, avoiding looking at the other's dim purple eyes. "Tsk, he really has become a dog-like creature."

"?"

"Forget about it. I've decided to go it alone, just like I initially decided. After all, I'm an outsider, and outsiders should be thinking about how to go home. The grudges between the native species have nothing to do with me." The believer withdrew her gaze and stated indifferently, "Otherwise, I wouldn't have brought back a public enemy like you, Miss Artificial Being."

“I see. But as I said before, it’s inevitable that a rogue model like me, who has survived to this day and escaped destruction, will lose its connection with the central Hive. I think the chances of starting with me and going to the core of the Hive to find your so-called ‘homecoming’ are slim, Believer Hearn.”

"It's worth a try, otherwise we should continue to draw our swords deep in the forest instead of sitting in a hotel in Silver Harbor and having a calm and peaceful conversation. Isn't that what we agreed on before, Pandora Reinhardt?"

"Yes, I opened the path to the Central for you, and you found the source of this information about [Pandora Reinhardt] for me. It's fair."

“I am glad that the fragile trust between us has been maintained, Miss Reinhardt.”

"I second that. It's a very slim chance that the first intelligent being I encounter after opening my eyes is not a native species of Thranheim, but a stranger. Mr. Hearn."

"After all, you are a cancer to the native species of Thranheim."

"Please allow me to return these words to you verbatim."

The believer chuckled briefly, his gaze no longer wandering elsewhere, but settling on the mechanical girl in front of him, who exuded an aura that kept strangers at bay.

This wasn't the first android he'd encountered; rather, their numbers were almost like a swarm of bees, making them incredibly bothersome. During Hearn's brief mercenary career, she'd blasted at least a dozen humanoid androids. These metallic lumps, indistinguishable from humanoids in appearance, shared a striking common characteristic: their individual combat abilities far surpassed those of biological combat professionals of similar size. A large number of them were all highly skilled, experienced warriors with terrifyingly tough skin.

It now appears that their so-called combat experience was based on data models that had been refined over many years of warfare.

No one knows where they came from, or even where their stronghold is. For all intelligent beings who survived the Dark Ages and returned to the surface, if one had to list the most abhorrent objective factors in the glorious Fourth Age, the Age of Revival, then these catastrophic, bloodthirsty swarms of bees would undoubtedly be at the top of the list.

No one knows why they fight, nor has anyone reached a consensus with them. There is no need for communication, understanding, or approval. The sole purpose of these cursed metal lumps seems to be to completely exterminate all divinely created species on this planet, just as they have done for the past few centuries.

That's why the believer described them that way—to all the native species of Thranheim, these machine-humanoids were undoubtedly a cancer.

If Rosetta, the embodiment of nature and life, created those big-tailed foxes, and the fallen Lord of Light forged the glorious civilization of the Sons of Earth, and Hephaestus of the Forge and Fire sculpted a group of bearded dwarves from clay who would be perfect tavern owners and blacksmiths, and so on... if everything is truly as recorded in the documents, and the gods created the dozen or so mainstream intelligent species that now thrive in the world of Thranheim, then which merciless deity created these cataclysmic extinction machines of the Mech race?

Throughout history, anything associated with deities has never been a good thing. Mr. Hearn lamented the capriciousness of fate and felt deeply weary of it.

To dispel this inexplicable loneliness and weariness, he made a harmless joke to the equally uninterested lodger in front of him, which he thought was perfectly reasonable.

"Miss Reinhardt, do you know what happens next in a traditional shonen story?"

The girl on the other side still looked like she hadn't woken up yet, and Pandora raised her eyebrows slightly to show that she was listening.

"Well, one day, an ignorant boy unwittingly brought a mysterious girl he had found in the wild back to a small village where heroes had once been born. He didn't know that the girl he found was actually one of humanity's natural enemies, and he never suspected it afterward. Time just passed by like water..."

"...Not long after, one day, an enemy launched a surprise attack on the hero's hometown without warning. The village was burned to the ground, and everyone died. The boy, however, survived. He dug out the hero's sword from the fire, roared helplessly, and vowed to repay blood with blood, until death do us part."

“Perfect, almost exactly what I expected.” The believer became slightly more interested, and the slight displeasure at being interrupted vanished with the rising sense of pleasure. “When I first met you, I knew that although you have a beautiful, world-weary face, you might actually have a similar quirky sense of humor to me, Miss.”

"So, what's the reason you're willing to cooperate with me? Even knowing the risks are high, you could very well become a sinner in this city."

"Firstly, I am an outsider, and my purpose is fundamentally different from that of these native residents."

"Oh, heartless stranger."

"Secondly, I have a difference in values ​​with those kids who are destined to become heroes. For example, right now, because my first impression of you is basically in the good ball zone, I'll forgive you in advance."

"..."

A subtle silence fell over the room for a moment. The afternoon breeze lifted the sheer curtains, bringing a touch of warmth that was precious in winter. The sparse sunlight slanted into the room, gilding the hair of the two strangers with a bright gold.

“Ha…you’re such a simple-minded human being,” Pandora sighed.

"That noun has always been a compliment to me, both in the past and now, so I'll just accept this as a compliment."

"weirdo."

"Probably," the believer replied, neither confirming nor denying it.

The journey home is long and arduous.

The believer leaned back lazily in the peach wood chair, enjoying a brief respite amidst the fragrant smoke. No longer worrying about the future, she began to listlessly scrutinize her future colleague, feeling as if she were looking at flowers through a fog.

"Hearn, what's the part beyond the [basic]?" An unexpected question.

"Huh? Oh, you mean that?" He snapped out of his reverie.

"Yes, I am a little concerned."

“I have a deep-seated aversion to blonde women, but luckily you only have a faint touch, so I basically ignore it. That’s the part beyond the ‘basic’.”

"..."

……

Chapter 82 Dragon and Tiger

Beneath the leaden sky before the rain, the open fields outside the window flashed by. Rusty wheels rolled over the rails, carrying the equally ancient iron dragon into the distance. Amidst the tolling toll of the death knell, the pale lights dutifully illuminated everything.

The man's roar and the banshee's shriek fell silent at the same time. Fragments of flesh and blood filled most of the space like graffiti. The weapons of the North had decapitated their master moments before, and their remaining force embedded themselves into the white iron carriage walls... After everything had become completely quiet, she slowly walked forward and returned to where she had started.

The carriage was quiet, save for the soft snoring of sleepers and the occasional scraping of metal. But this unspoken understanding didn't last long. After the friction of the ninth reloading subsided, a series of unhesitating gunshots rang out.

After that, one of them fell into eternal silence.

The sole survivor stood in the deserted carriage, letting the glaring crimson slowly soak into her pale figure. The ghostly white lights flickered like phantoms, faithfully reflecting her silhouette in the windows on either side. In the reflection, one could vaguely make out a pair of dim purple eyes, just as she should have.

After gazing at her reflection in the mirror in silence for a long time, she spoke softly, as if talking to herself, yet not quite.

"This is a trial..."

"!"

When Miss Reinhardt opened her eyes and realized she was facing an unfamiliar ceiling, the fragmented dream vanished as mercilessly as time passed with her awakening consciousness. Amidst the soft chirping of birds, the dawn that belonged to the Silver Harbor finally arrived.